To Keep Dean With Me
by ShoefoneWeasley
Summary: When Niki Chang is asked by Dean Thomas to the Yule Ball, she couldn't be happier as she has the time of her life. But is everything really as great as it seems?


I look beautiful. My hair is in micro braids, half up and half down. The braids are dark brown, but the tips of the braids are a light caramel color. My dress is emerald green, my favorite color, with tints of dark blue, the colors blending so well together. There is a bow wrapped around my waist for decoration, and black flowers decorate my chest area. With the big gorgeous fluffs surrounding my waist and below, I feel as if I'm one with nature. My necklace is a simple silver jewel that matches my silver nails, completing my look.

"Is that my twin looking as beautiful as ever?" my sister, Viki Chang, asks in mock surprise. "Surely not! The Niki Chang I know informed that she would never in her life look this way."

I laugh at her as I turn once in the mirror, barely able to recognize myself. "I guess things change, don't they Vik?"

"I would believe so." Viki comes and stands behind me in the mirror and we both smile at our reflections. She puts her arm around my waist and rests her head on my shoulder. "Dean won't be able to keep his hands off you."

"The same goes for you and Lucas," I say about her Gryffindor boyfriend. I grab her hand and say, "Come on. We don't want to keep our dates waiting." She nods her head, and soon we head downstairs and towards the Yule Ball.

The moment I see Dean Thomas waiting for me in his dress robes, I feel my heart stop. There is still a part of me that doesn't believe this is true. It's too good to be true. Dean has been my crush for more than two years now, and the fact that _he_ asked _me_ to the Yule Ball just seems so unreal.

When he steps in front of me and smiles his wonderful smile, I know it's all real. He has a smile that stops traffic. It's so blinding and has his brown eyes twinkling like stars. Something as small as a simple smile changes this boys appearance, making me adore him even more.

"You look utterly amazing," he says quietly, making me blush.

"Thank you," I say quietly as he grabs my hand and leads me into the Great Hall.

The majority of the night is spent out on the floor, dancing with him and the rest of our friends to the sounds of The Weird Sisters. I smile and laugh the whole time and it makes my cheeks hurt, but having Dean by my side helps me to forget such minor pain.

Halfway through the night, we decide to rest for a bit. We sit and watch our friends have the time of their lives. This is the night to forget about our worries and just have fun. We know that the next day things will go back to normal, so tonight, we live it up and party like it's 1955.

As Dean goes to get us some drinks, my eyes wonder to Viki on the floor, slow dancing with Lucas Hornsby. I watch as he whispers in her ear, which makes her giggle. He pulls her closer to him and plants a kiss on her lips.

It never occurred to me until this moment that I'm jealous of my twin, although I will never tell her that. She and Lucas have been dating for almost six months now, and I've never had a boyfriend. I've never even been kissed.

"Here you go," Dean says as he hands me a cup. I thank him and take a sip, feeling the cool liquid crawl down my throat. I'm thirstier than I thought I was.

He sits next to me with his own cup and takes a sip as well. Then he looks at me and says, "I'm really happy you said yes to going to the dance with me."

"I'm happy you asked me. I honestly didn't think anyone wanted to go with me."

He laughed. "I don't see why not. You're a very pretty Ravenclaw, one of the smartest in the house of the smartest. I'm sure there were plenty of guys who wanted to ask you. I was lucky enough to get to you before they did, though."

I feel myself melt at the sound of his words. Good thing I'm already sitting. "Thank you. I'm glad you got to me first, too."

Once we finish our drinks, Dean stands up and holds his hand out to me. "Come with me. I want to show you something."

I take his hand and ask, "Show me what?"

"You'll see."

He leads me out of the Great Halls and out of the castle and I find us on the Hogwarts grounds. We can get in trouble if we're caught, since the students are supposed to remain inside the castle. But I'm here with Dean and he's holding my hand, so I can care less.

"Why did you bring me out here?" I ask him.

"I wanted to show you how beautiful the night sky is."

I look up and see that he's right. There isn't a cloud in the black-almost-blue sky and the moon and stars shine bright enough to create a circle of light around us. "It is. It's so lovely."

Dean turns to me and says, "Niki, do you think you can help me out?"

"Help you with what?"

"Well, I have this friend and he fancies this girl very much. He has for as long as they have been friends. He's afraid she might not fancy him back though. What should he do?"

At first, I'm completely miffed. There is a part of me that hoped he wanted to talk about us, but he only wanted to talk about his friend. As disappointed as I am, I don't show this emotion. Instead, I say, "Well maybe he should just tell this girl how he feels. Depending on how long they've been friends, it's a possibility she may fancy him as well."

Dean begins to smile. "He wants to let her know how he feels, but his fear of her rejection is just too strong. He… he asked her to the Yule Ball and she said yes, and she's having a good time from what he can see."

I think about this and say, "Maybe there is one way he can find out if she really feels the same way back."

"How is that?"

I lean in a little closer to him. "Tell him to kiss the girl. She might kiss back."

"Like this?"

Dean then leans in and kisses me softly. The moment our lips touch, it hits me that he was "the friend" and I was "the girl." I can't believe that went completely over my head! I'm a Ravenclaw, for Merlin's sake! I should have seen that coming from a mile away!

I don't have time to mentally kick myself though, as I am too caught up in the amazing kiss between me and Dean. I put my arms around his neck as his hands find my waist. _I can't let this moment end!_ I think to myself. But alas, all great things must come to an end.

We break apart to breathe, both of us smiling smiles much too big for our faces. "Yes," I say, "exactly like that. If your friend kisses the way you do, he'll be sure to get the girl."

"I'll be sure to let him know." As we lean in for another kiss, we hear a voice that immediately sets us two feet from each other.

"Students are supposed to remain in the castle at all times," Professor Snape says to us.

"I'm sorry, professor," Dean says. "I was just showing Niki –"

"There is no part of me that cares what you and Miss Chang were doing, Mr. Thomas," Snape interrupts. "I suggest you go back into the castle at once."

Dean and I slowly walk back, not being able to hold back our laughter.

"And twenty points apiece from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw!"

We laugh even harder. Sure, it stinks to get points deducted from my house, but it was worth it for me to experience my first kiss.

Slow music still plays as we step into the Great Hall, and we join in and sway to beat just like our classmates. There are moments when I lay my head on his shoulder as we dance, and then there are moments where he kisses me the second our eyes meet.

And I still can't believe this is happening. Dean is mine, all mine. It sounds selfish, but at this precious moment, I really don't care.

This continues on for a while, and every time we kiss, it's longer than the previous one. This all just feels so incredibly right. And yet at the same time, something feels so wrong… I just can't put my finger on it. And then it hits me. I'm slowly pulling away from him.

_No!_ I yell frantically in my head. I can't let this happy. Not this time.

Of course, he can't feel me pulling away from him. Everything is normal for him. I pull him closer to me and hold on for dear life, but I can still feel myself pulling away.

"Hey, hey," he says, looking at me and seeing the worry in my face. "What's wrong?"

"I… I…" How can I explain this to him? He'll never believe me because I'd never believe me.

"You can tell me," he says, kissing away the tears that form in my eyes and roll down my cheeks. His kindness makes me hate myself for the stupid situation about to happen.

"I can't," I say, the tears coming faster. "I just can't. Please, just trust me. Just… just hold me as tight as you can if you really love me."

Dean pulls me closer and doesn't let go, but I still feel myself pulling away from him. I cling to him as though my life depends on it, which at the moment, it actually does. But I know that even if I cling to him so hard that it feels as though we are one person, it's still not going to stop what will happen next.

"Niki," I hear a voice say, gently shaking me awake. "Niki, class is over."

I sit up and look around my empty Charms classroom. Of course it was dream. It was always just a dream.

Viki watches me get up slowly. "The dream again?" she asks quietly even though we are the only ones in the room. I nod my head.

It's only been a few months since Dean and I broke up. The reoccurring dream I've been having is actually a memory. The night of the Yule Ball, when Dean told me that he liked me. The night we shared our first kiss. The night I'd been happier than I'd ever been in my life.

This dream is just a constant reminder of how much I miss him and I how I desperately want him back. At first I thought it meant that maybe someday we'll be together again. But as the days come and go, I realize how little of a chance I have of that happening. Dean is with Ginny Weasley now. I have to accept it.

We leave the classroom and head to the Great Hall for lunch. As we turn the corner, I bump into someone by accident. As always, I'm not watching where I'm going. I pick up the book that fell from the boy's hands and give it back to him.

When I look into his face, I feel my breath catch in my throat. It's him. Dean Thomas. Maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me, but I see a small smile appear on his face. "It's okay, Niki," he says quietly. "I'll see you in Transfiguration." He says hi to Viki, then heads off in the opposite direction.

Whatever hope I feel bubble inside me pops the moment I turn to see him walk off. Ginny meets him halfway and hugs him as he gives her a kiss. She's aware of me looking. I know she is. She whispers something to him and then grabs his hand as they began walking, more than likely going to the Quidditch field. Before they are out of my sight completely, she turns around and gives me a look that tells me exactly where I can go.

It kills me how before all this, Ginny and I were friends. Not best friends, but I liked her a lot. Now it's like we never had any nice moments together. Now that she's with Dean, she hates me for the relationship we had, which is wrong because it's obvious she has feelings for Harry Potter. Dean deserves someone way better than her.

Once Viki and I are done eating with our friends, we go back to our room and she begins to tell me of something funny her new boyfriend, Seamus Finnegan, said to her. I love my twin and can usually put up with her talking, but seeing that Seamus and Dean are best friends, her talk only depresses me.

I close my eyes and drown out my sister's voice. I hate this. I hate that I may never get over Dean, who was my first love. He will always be with Ginny Weasley, someone who doesn't even love him a third of as much as I do. He may never love me the same way again.

I feel myself slowly drift off, my memory turning into a dream once more. It's sad that it's the only place I can really feel happy again, but it's also the only place I can ever truly keep Dean with me.

_Fin._

**A/N: So there are two specific reasons I wrote this. 1. Because there are people out there that hate Ginny Weasley so much and I'll never know why. I personally love her to bits and she's one of my favorite characters, but I wanted to give people an actual reason to hate her, not just because she married Harry or some other crappy reason. 2. I wanted to show you guys the inside of Niki's Hogwarts life. I know it might seem a bit confusing if you're reading **_**Love is NOT a Joke**_**, but I have a whole background story on Hogwarts Niki and her life as a Ravenclaw. **_**Love is NOT a Joke**_** is just an idea my friend and I had when we were kids because we wanted to date Fred and George Weasley. xD Anyways, read and review, please! Make my OC a happy OC! :D**


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